Empty
by Sapphire1112
Summary: One of my ideas at the end of series 20. There will be a reunion, I promise, but this seemed like a good place to end chapter 1. I don't own the characters.
1. Chapter 1

Jack froze.

He couldn't make his brain or his heart understand what had just happened.

Nikki was dead. He knew it. His only link to her had gone and he still had absolutely no idea where she was. The next time he saw her, her body would be an empty shell, like the ones they worked with every day. He'd look into those once lively, laughing eyes and see nothing.

Those beautiful eyes.

The silence in his head from the shock of the situation he'd found himself in and the pain in his heart exploded all at once as he collapsed to the ground sobbing, the now, useless phone - well useless to him now Nikki's was dead, still clutched in his clammy hand.

On his knees, his head dropped into his hands, his body wracked with torment and heart-broken sobs, the noise of the otherwise happy atmosphere, crashing around his him like thunder.

He was broken.

Warm hands found his shoulders, as a comforting voice spoke sense

.

"Don't you give up now, don't give up."

The words he'd spoken to Nikki a mere 20 minutes ago, hit him hard.

"If Nikki had given up, I wouldn't be here. I heard you mention her air before the phone cut out." Luisa continued.

Air. She still had air. Suddenly, his mind began to clear

"She still had air." He exclaimed, desperately trying to stand up on his buckling legs

"So...?" Luisa questioned, trying to support the stumbling scientist and motioning to Gustavo to grab his other arm.

"So maybe she's not under the ground." he answered hopefully, now successfully on his feet. "Buried, but not underground." He stared at the blank faces looking at him, racking his brains."

"The mounds!" Ernesto broke the silence. "My mother cared about Nikki, she wouldn't have put her underground. She'd have put her somewhere you could find burial mounds I've been excavating on the coast."

"She said she could taste salt." Jack agreed, his heart in his mouth. "Show me where." He asked Ernesto, desperately.

His heart flooded with hope. He still had time.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack felt trapped.

He sat in the back of the car, desperate to get there quicker than the car was moving. Ernesto was driving, with Luisa, who had insisted on coming also in the front. He was driving at the limit, but it was too slow.

Jack would have gone faster, regardless. His fingers were twitchy, so were his legs and when they finally reached the mounds, it was all Jack could do, not to fling open the door and run, before the car had stopped moving.

Three of them raced to the mound. It was a mess - someone had forced their way out.

Jack's heart skipped a beat. She had got out. She was alive then. He was briefly filled with relief - only to be clouded by terror again when it dawned on him that he still had no idea where she was.

"NIKKI" he yelled at the top of his voice. He put everything he had into yelling her name - not because he was expecting her to answer, but because at that particular moment, he felt powerless to do anything other than yell her name.

He was greeted by the expected silence, but then there was something else.

"Jack!" It sounded small, but she was close enough for him to hear - and alive!

"NIKKI!" He yelled over and over, racing towards the edge of the cliff where her voice seemed to be coming from.

"JACK!" She kept answering. She was getting louder. He reached the edge and was greeted by the sight he'd been longing for ever since he'd found she'd been taken. Nikki was running back along the beach looking up at him. Now his heart really did skip a beat. He raced down towards her, not caring that he was stumbling and tripping all over the place.

They finally reached each other and he lift his sobbing doctor off her feet. His doctor. He was sobbing to as she buried her head in his chest, causing him to collapse backwards with her onto the sand. "Are you ok?" Silly question, really, he thought but it had escaped his lips before he could stop it.

"I am now." She whispered softly through her sobs.

"I thought I was too late." He sobbed into her hair.

"I know, Jack. I'm sorry." Nikki wrapped her arms tighter around him.

"I thought I was too late" Jack repeated, unable to say anything else.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" She whispered into his chest, calming him enough to comfort her.

"Shhhh it's ok" he whispered back softly, rocking her gently against him. He pulled his phone free from his pocket, still holding her tightly and dialled Thomas's mobile before putting it to his ear.

"Jack?" Thomas answered.

"I got her. she ok." It wasn't much but it was all he could manage.

"Thank God." He could hear the relief in Thomas's voice. "I call Clarissa."

Jack hung up. Still holding her tightly, Jack whispered to Nikki. "Luisa and Ernesto are up there with the car, love" Nikki nodded against his warm chest and he suddenly realised that her clothes were soaked through and she had bare feet. "Are you sure you're ok?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Mmm, just tired. I expect you are too - It's been a long day!" She was calmer now, and gave him a small smile.

He carefully helped her to her feet, took her hand and slowly led her up off the beach, hand in hand.

He was never letting go.


	3. Chapter 3

All the way to the airport hotel, Nikki had snuggled into Jack. They had gone straight back to the compound after the beach. Jack had called a taxi while they packed up their things and they had left straight away. Nikki had _insisted._ She had been _so_ restless and fidgety while they were waiting for the taxi that Jack had been quite concerned.

Thomas greeted them at the hotel. It was hugs all round. Thomas had got them all a room and booked their flights for the early hours. They took the cases up to the room and Jack tried to persuade Nikki to have a shower - she was still covered in mud from her ordeal.

"I've booked a table for 8 o'clock in the restaurant." Thomas said, encouragingly "Jack's right, you'll feel better after a shower."

Nikki hesitated. "It's ok, we're not going anywhere, I promise." Jack reassured her.

 ***Just before 8 o'clock***

Jack _had_ been right. Nikki felt better after her shower. As they headed down to dinner, Jack and Thomas were relieved to see her looking refreshed and more like herself. Of course, the emotional scars ran _far_ deeper - as they discovered over dinner. The emotional scars would take _a lot_ of healing. _A lot_ of time.

The conversation over dinner started off smoothly but at times a traumatised Nikki reacted badly to things that wouldn't normally have bothered her .It was totally out of character for the usually happy-go-lucky doctor. She repeatedly snapped sharply, mostly at Thomas, sometimes at Jack as well - although it made her even more upset each time she snapped at Jack. She remembered all too well how much she had needed to hear his voice when she was trapped and how she'd longed to be back with him. She felt the most guilty for snapping at him.

Jack was her comforter, calming her during these moments of distress. Stroking her hand soothingly, offering words of comfort and consolation and putting her troubled mind at ease.

 ***In the hotel room, after dinner***

"Get some sleep." Jack squeezed Nikki's shoulder.

" _You know_ as well as _I do_ that neither of us are going to sleep at all until we are on the plane. Not until we are leaving this _damn country_!" Nikki rebuffed him, subconsciously raising her voice at her last sentence.

" _Alright_ , love." Jack calmed her, his mind flashing back to his first phone conversation with her as she had described her earthly prison.

"You two can have the bed, I'll just kip on the sofa."Thomas stated, helpfully.

Nikki spun around. "Did you _not hear_ what I just said? I _just_ want to get on the _bloody plane_!" Jack instinctively reached for her and pulled her tense body into a comforting embrace, hushing her softly.

Thomas sighed. Nikki wasn't _usually_ like this - tense and verbally lashing out. It was certainly _not_ her usual temperament. In fact before tonight, he'd only _once_ seen her act this way - all passive-aggressive, during their first unfortunate meeting when he had unintentionally rubbed her up the wrong way.

"Shushhh you're _safe_ now, ok?" Jack whispered.

Nikki sighed heavily. "Sorry." she muttered at Thomas.

He nodded and silently crossed the room. Patting Nikki's shoulder gently, as Jack continued holding her trembling form. Thomas said quietly, "I know you can't _sleep_ , but you've been through something I can't even _imagine_." He stopped and looked at Jack. "You too, Jack. You're both exhausted and you _need to rest_ \- even if you just lie down for a bit." He paused as Nikki nodded. "In a few hours we'll be going through the airport and then we'll be on the plane home, ok? _Just_ a few hours, Nikki, I _promise_."

 ***A few hours later...***

Thomas opened his laptop and Clarissa's face appeared.

"We've _just_ got on the plane." He stated, before she could say anything.

"I'm glad to hear it!" She answered.

"We've _literally_ just got on the plane!" Thomas repeated indignantly, glancing to his left.

"How are they?" Clarissa enquired in concern.

"What, you mean _them_?" Thomas retorted, turning the computer to reveal Jack, collapsed in the window seat. His arms were protectively wrapped around Nikki, who was in the seat next to him, leaning against his chest in an _equally_ collapsed state. They were both _fast asleep_.

Thomas turned the laptop back to him. "Bless them." Clarissa said, fondly. "They've been through _so much_ recently. I'm _so_ glad you're all on the way home."

"Well" Thomas quipped, "Nikki _said_ they wouldn't sleep until they _got on the plane!_ "


End file.
